Porn Costumes, Lingerie Bring In Big Bucks in Online Auctions

LOS ANGELES/PACIFIC RIM—Everyone knows that adult movie and web stars don't just make money from their movies and created content, but also from feature dancing at gentlemen's clubs around the country (and in some cases, around the world), from personal appearances at conventions and other public venues, and some even have their own online stores where they sell their movies, sex toys and clothing. But one of the fastest-growing moneymakers these days are online auctions of porn stars' panties, bras, dresses, paintings and jewelry created by the stars, and pretty much anything else they think their fans might want to pay for.

"GingerLynnAuctions.com is an auction site that I started almost five years ago," said Ginger Lynn, who currently hosts her own internet radio show. "I was selling my items on another auction site which banned sales of personal, worn lingerie. So I thought to myself, 'I'm going to start my own site.' I designed it, got it up, got it running, and the intent was for all of the women in the industry to have the opportunity, when they retired or even while they were working, to sell their personal items to their fans at no cost. I don't charge the girls up front, I don't charge them anything at the back end; everything is entirely free, so we're looking for as many ladies who want to share their clothing with their fans as possible to come to the site."

Among the current offerings on GingerLynnAuctions.com are Nicki Hunter's wig from Hustler's This Ain't Avatar XXX; a set of Annie Cruz's boots, bra and panties; a used dildo from Alia Janine; Amber Lynn's bra and panties; a bunch of posters from mainstream movies starring Ginger Lynn—and we hear that even Belle Knox scored big with a recent panty sale.

"I've sold jewelry, I've sold paintings, I've sold panties, bras, any type of lingerie, shoes, dildos—everything is used and worn by or been invented or created by the seller," Ginger told AVN. "When the site first started, it was when Charlie Sheen was having his little meltdown, and so I did a press junket; I did probably 500 different [media] pieces; I did 60 of them just for Europe, so we did a lot of press in the beginning of it when it started up because I was selling those personal items that Charlie had given to me on my auction site. So, for instance, my paintings have been up on the site; we sell comic books, we sell photos, we sell posters, any type of memorabilia that has to do with the adult film industry that is personal to the ladies in the industry."

Also, a couple of times a week, Ginger will even invite some of her porn star sellers over to her house to shoot short videos with the stars wearing their saleable items, which videos are then posted on GingerLynnAuctions.com.

"I got Hyapatia [Lee] to come back and shoot—it was her first shoot in years and years and years," Ginger detailed. "We've got Amber Lynn, we've got Nina Hartley, and we've got all the young Hustler girls and the Dillion Harpers and the Penthouse girls, so if you look at the site, there's hundreds of items up at any given time, and it's free to the girls and it gives the fans an opportunity to take home a piece of their favorite porn stars' intimate lingerie."

And online auctions featuring adult-oriented goods aren't confined to the U.S.. ZIZ Entertainment, a Japanese adult production company, recently auctioned several costumes worn by the stars of its softcore, cosplay-themed videos, which generally have been based on popular Japanese anime video games like Taimanin Asagi and Taimanin Yukikaze (which also happen to be the names of the soft porn films). Some of the outfits have gone for really big bucks!

"Typical clothing items on the 'Adult Auction' site tend to get only a handful of bids, if any, and outfits don't usually go for over a couple hundred bucks, at most," noted Brian Ashcraft on the Kotaku.com website. But, he said, one six-piece outfit drew 534 bids and went for nearly $3,500, while another five-piece costume got more than 500 bids and finally sold for almost the same amount.

"I can't help but wonder if cosplayers aren't putting in these bids, because the outfits themselves appear to be well-constructed and suitable to wear to a convention," Ashcraft mused. "[T]he costumes that are getting the highest bids could be worn in public. That, or I guess there are hundreds of diehard Taimanin fans with money to burn."